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13 weeks old and Finally the girls are outside for the very first time in their lives. Slowly one at a time each girl carefully stepped out into the sunshine and great outdoors to have a look around. They froze a lot to look at the wild birds overhead. Mostly moved around together as a unit, sticking very close to one another. They took a group dust bath and by day two they were running around. All the pics are sideways, sorry!

Thanks Sanderson and CC they are so sweet and funny.To my horror, this morning three of the little girls stood outside in 30mph wind, rain, and lightening instead of joining the other three inside the coop. Coop and run is located about 150 ft out my windows. I thought they were frozen in fear and perhaps too young and dopey to run for safety. Upon some research and wiping a few of my tears, it turns out they won't die and some of them enjoy the wind and rain and stomping around puddles and looking for worms. To some chickens bad weather is time to run and others just think it's fun. Made this new owner a little crazy this morning...

We recently stayed at a B&B at Mont Tremblant in the Province of Quebec. The owners have three chickens that they keep in a five star rated chicken coup. It's insulated and heated for the cold Quebec winters.

@llama momma wrote:Thanks Sanderson and CC they are so sweet and funny.To my horror, this morning three of the little girls stood outside in 30mph wind, rain, and lightening instead of joining the other three inside the coop. Coop and run is located about 150 ft out my windows. I thought they were frozen in fear and perhaps too young and dopey to run for safety. Upon some research and wiping a few of my tears, it turns out they won't die and some of them enjoy the wind and rain and stomping around puddles and looking for worms. To some chickens bad weather is time to run and others just think it's fun. Made this new owner a little crazy this morning...

Just got my newsletter from Fresh Eggs Daily and read that basil is good for chickens and they like it, too. That is great news for me because I have more basil than I know what to do with. I will start harvesting and sharing, today.

Mine love basil. I pick a variety of herbs and use scissors to cut up everything and mix it up before giving it to them. They go especially crazy for missed/over matured green bean seeds too. They will steal it from each others beaks. And run off with it.

@llama momma wrote:Mine love basil. I pick a variety of herbs and use scissors to cut up everything and mix it up before giving it to them. They go especially crazy for missed/over matured green bean seeds too. They will steal it from each others beaks. And run off with it.

LOL! That's what our rabbit does with kale leaves. I need to pay more attention to my garden waste. Most of our chickens are free range, so I put everything in the compost pile for them and they do an awesome job of mixing it up. We also have some rescued banties that can't come out because of the hawks that patrol our skies. They will start getting basil, today. They may not be impressed however, since Hubby built them their own "garden" with corn, millet, sunflowers, and other sprouted greens that look better than my "tended" crops.

@kauairosina wrote:What a good idea!! I have been struggling with what to do with all the extra basil. Somehow it did not occur to me to give it to the chickens. I wonder if the eggs will taste different? Just Kidding.

So, now ya wanna good laugh? I bought seeds, prepped a bed, planted, and nurtured sorghum as a special treat for the chickens. Today I discovered it's growing wild in the chicken yard where Hubby waters the scattered chicken feed and it sprouts on its own. The worst part of this story is the darn chickens are so spoiled they don't pay any attention to it. (They're ignoring the basil, too.)